What are access specifiers in OOP languages such as Java and C++?

Access specifiers in OOP languages like Java and C++ determine the visibility and access rights of classes, methods, and attributes. The three main access specifiers are public, private, and protected. Public members are accessible from any part of the program, private members are only accessible within the same class, and protected members are accessible within the same class and its subclasses. These specifiers play a crucial role in encapsulation and defining the scope of class members.